


No One Likes Showing the New Kid Around

by xactamundo



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Abusive John Winchester, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Crowley is a dick, Dean is helpful, First Kiss, High School AU, Homophobic Language, I REGRET NOTHING, I'm horrible at tagging, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, M/M, Not Beta Read, at the end, cafeteria fight, for like half a chapter, good movie., hahahaha anyone get that reference?, homophobic everything tbh, i'm just gonna go, nerd!dean, new kid!castiel, new kid!gabriel, no ragrets, we're pretty chill in my opinion, why does everyone hate on the homos?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-19
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-14 21:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5759893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xactamundo/pseuds/xactamundo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When second-in-command jock Balthazar dumps new-kid-duty on Dean Winchester, Dean wasn't betting on enjoying it in the slightest. Although he can't complain about getting into a lunch fight and getting off easy due to Castiel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

“Hey, Winchester,” 

Dean looked up from the book he was reading. His glasses slid down his nose a bit and he instinctively pushed back onto the bridge of his nose. Balthazar stood in front of his desk. 

“What do you want?” Dean asked.

“There’s a new kid starting today and I don’t feel like showing him around. Would you mind doing it?” Something in his tone of voice told Dean that it wasn’t a question. He nodded and Balthazar walked around Dean’s desk, clapping a hand on his back.

“Appreciate it Dean,” The blond jock strode over to his friends just as the teacher walked in. Dean pulled out his math notebook and a pencil, ready to begin taking notes.

[]

The bell rang and as Dean was gathering up his things, a boy timidly approached him. His dark hair stood almost on end and his bright blue eyes glanced around jumpily. Dean stood up and the boy jumped backwards a bit. Dean caught him by his tan trench coat before he fell backwards over the desk in front of his own. 

“You must be the new kid. Dean Winchester.” Dean released the boy’s coat and held out a hand. 

“Ca-Castiel Novak” He stuttered while he shook Dean’s hand. Dean was surprised at the boy – Castiel’s – deep, gravelly voice. Dean grinned.

“You have your schedule?” Dean asked. Castiel swallowed and nodded, shoving his hand in one of his pockets and pulling out a slightly wrinkled piece of paper. Dean bit the inside of his mouth at Castiel’s jumpiness. Something was obviously wrong. Dean skimmed over Cas’ schedule.

“We have… literally all the same classes. Guess you’re stuck with me for the day.” Dean lifted his things and jerked his head in the direction of the doorway. “Follow me.” 

He led Castiel around easily the first half of the day. The messy haired boy trailed after him during every period change. They made a few stops at their lockers to drop off Castiel’s new books and to give Dean time to retrieve his own materials. By noon, he had gotten almost no conversation out of Cas. He was determined to converse with him at lunch. Dean grabbed his lunch out of his locker and took Castiel to the lunch room. Dean sat at his normal table, Castiel pulling up a chair across from him. Dean was just starting on his own lunch when he noticed that Castiel didn’t have one. He quickly finished chewing before speaking.

“You have a lunch?”

Castiel jumped and looked up from his twiddling thumbs. “I… I brought money but I… lost it?”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Who took it?”

“No one?”

“Answer with a statement and I might believe you.”

“It’s not a big deal… I’m not even that hungry.” 

“Castiel…”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” He said, suddenly smacking his palms down on the table. Dean raised his hands in mock surrender before reaching into his lunch and pulling out a Ziploc bag. He slid it across the table towards Cas.

“Dean, you don’t need to…”

“Take the sandwich Cas, I have plenty of food.” 

Castiel sighed and nodded, pulling out the sandwich and taking a bite. Satisfied, Dean went back to his own lunch. Castiel startled again when Sam plopped down next to Dean. Sam placed his elbows on the table and cradled his head in his hands. 

“Hey, Sammy, you all right?” Dean asked.

Sam let out a shaky breath and mumbled something.

“What was that?” 

“Jess,” Sam breathed out.

“What about her?” 

“She… she cheated on me.” Sam paused, “With Ruby of all people!” 

“Sammy… How’d you find out? She tell you?”

“No, I found them making out in Ruby’s car before school. She doesn’t even know that I know.”

Dean clapped a hand on Sam’s shoulder, squeezing gently. 

“I’ve got to go tell her.” Sam mumbled. 

“You can do it Sammy. You deserve better, all right?” 

Sam nodded and stood up, rolling his shoulders back before striding over to Jess’ table. Dean suddenly remembered that Castiel was still sitting there. Cas was staring at the spot Sam had been sitting, with wide eyes.

“That was my little brother. Sam.” Dean explained. Cas inhaled sharply like he had been holding his breath and nodded, drawing his eyes to Dean. “You have any siblings?”

Cas nodded a bit. “Yes. Only one of them goes here, the rest are still with my father in Florida. Gabriel and I moved here with our mother.”

“Gabriel, huh? You said he goes here?”

“His first day is tomorrow. He stayed behind today to help my mother finish unpacking. He’s a senior.” 

Dean nodded, happy he finally got a bit of conversation out of Cas. “Sammy’s a sophomore.” Castiel’s eyes widened again. “I know right? He shot up as a freshman. Don’t know where he gets it from.” 

Castiel smiled a bit.

“Be right back.” Dean said, gathering up the garbage and striding over to the trash can. When Dean walked back, he was shocked to see a caramel haired boy sitting next to Castiel. He seemed to be the only person, other than Dean, that didn’t petrify Castiel. Dean sat back down and the new boy smirked. 

“I’m guessing this is Dean?” He asked. Dean nodded, studying the boy.

“I’m Gabriel, Cassie’s older brother.” Dean took Gabriel’s outstretched hand. “If you two will excuse me, I’m going to go hit on somebody that probably won’t be asking for it.” Gabriel walked off, leaving Dean with his jaw hanging open. 

“Yes, he’s always like that.” Castiel said. 

Dean finally snapped his mouth shut when he saw Sam coming. Sammy took the seat next to him again and Dean gave him a questioning look. 

“We broke up.” Sam said. Dean nodded and pulled his book off of the top of his pile of things. 

He finished up the chapter he had been in the middle of before he noticed Crowley and Balthazar coming his way. He snapped the book shut after shoving his bookmark in and put it back down, staring the pair down. He glanced Castiel’s way. The boy’s shoulders were hunched in and his muscles were tensed. Dean looked back towards the football players, his jaw set. 

“Relax, Winchester, we’re just trying to have a chat with little Castiel here.” Crowley drawled.

Castiel’s head snapped up, his eyes filled with fear. 

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Dean decided aloud.

Sam and Cas both turned towards him, Sam’s face confused and Cas’ thankful. Balthazar strolled behind Dean, yanking him out of his seat by the collar of his shirt before Dean could react. Dean struggled against Balthazar, but the blond was just a bit stronger than him. Balthazar pinned his arms behind his back with one hand and held Dean against his chest with the other. Lucifer had joined in at some point and he and Sam were tangled together on the floor. Crowley was leisurely strolling towards Cas. Dean struggled harder against Balthazar to no avail. 

The hold on Dean suddenly loosened. It would seem Sam had beaten Lucifer. Dean vaulted over the table and shoved Crowley back from Cas. The stout boy tripped a bit before turning on Dean, his face contorted with rage. He reeled his arm back, ready to punch Dean when he staggered to the side. Dean and Crowley both froze. Crowley spun around and Dean glanced around him.

Gabriel. 

Crowley made a move to start a fight with the 5’8” senior, but Gabriel struck first, hitting Crowley in the nose. The jock shouted in pain and brought both of his hands up to his nose. The principal, along with a random assortment of teachers, was there now. 

“All of you. With me.” Mr. Singer demanded. Dean walked back to the other side of the table and pulled Sam off of Balthazar. Balthazar pulled Lucifer out of his fetal position on the floor and onto his feet. The group shamefully made their way to Mr. Singer’s office. 

[]

Mr. Singer had brought them in in groups. Sam, Dean, Gabriel, and Castiel; and Lucifer, Crowley, and Balthazar. 

“Well boys, what happened?” Mr. Singer asked. “Castiel, how about you go first?” 

Dean felt Cas stiffen on the bench beside him. “I… Dean and I were… eating lunch… a-and then everyone started fighting. I… I am not really sure…” Castiel broke off before sobbing quietly. Dean placed a gentle hand on Castiel’s back, carefully rubbing circles between his shoulder blades. Castiel leaned into him, silently sobbing into his side. 

Mr. Singer huffed. “Sam?”

“I’m not sure what happened exactly, all I know is Balthazar grabbed Dean and when I got up to help him, Lucifer started a fight with me.” Sam explained quietly. 

“Gabriel?”

“I was flirting with this redhead across the cafeteria from these three, said her name was Charlie?” Gabe started.

“Charlie’s gay.” Dean broke in.

“I said I was flirting with her, didn’t say she was flirting back. Anyway, I saw the one that looks like a teapot,”

“Crowley,” Sam supplied

“Going for my little brother so I went over to do something about it. Deano got there before me, but I still think I did my part.”

Mr. Singer sighed. “Dean, you better have a complete story.”

Dean inhaled deeply. “I suppose I should start from the beginning. Cas didn’t have a lunch and I figured someone had taken his money from him. Crowley and Balthazar start coming over and Cas seemed pretty spooked. I told them to sod off and they said something about wanting to talk to Cas. He looked scared out of his mind. Balthazar grabs me and holds me back while Crowley is going towards Cas like some sort of predator.” Cas sobbed loudly in agreement, “Lucifer came over at some point and started a scuffle with Sam, but when Sam got a second, he got Balthazar off of me.” Cas had his arms wrapped around Dean now, holding him tightly. Dean could feel the dampness of his shirt where Cas was pressing his face. “I got over the table and shoved Crowley away from Cas and before he could hit me, Gabriel stepped in. He punched him in the nose, diffused the situation pretty quickly in my opinion.” 

Mr. Singer nodded. Suddenly, the bell rang. They had been in here for the entire afternoon. “You boys can go home. No fights tomorrow. That especially means you, Novaks.” 

Gabriel nodded and mumbled “Yes, sir.” While Castiel sniffled and nodded into Dean’s side. 

“Gitouttahere.” Mr. Singer said. The four of them walked out of the office, Sam and Gabe leading the way, Dean following with Castiel tucked under his arm. Dean noticed Sam hesitantly wrap an arm around Gabriel’s shoulder. Gabe relaxed into Sammy’s side and Dean couldn’t suppress a grin. Jess was missing out. Cas was still quietly crying when they walked past Crowley, Lucifer, and Balthazar. Crowley was holding a bloody tissue to his nose and Balthazar appeared to be taking a nap. When the four of them passed, Lucifer mumbled something under his breath. Sam froze in his tracks, Gabriel stopping as well. Dean pulled Cas a little closer to him.

“Would you like to repeat that?” Sam asked Lucifer, his voice dangerously calm.

“I said, ‘faggots’.” Lucifer said, looking up from his shoes. 

Sam quickly untangled himself from Gabriel and kicked Lucifer in the stomach. Lucifer yelped. He had obviously been hit there before, probably during he and Sam’s earlier fight. Lucifer curled into his stomach and shot daggers at Sam. Sam nonchalantly twined his arm back around Gabriel and started walking again. Dean kept Cas pressed tightly against his side and followed his little brother and his new boyfriend. The two groups split up, agreeing to reconvene at the front doors, to go to their lockers. Once they were away from Gabe and Sam, Dean gently untangled Cas’ arms from his waist and held the sniffling boy at arms length. 

“Are you all right?” Dean asked carefully. 

“They beat me up before school.” Cas said quietly.

“They what?”

“Please don’t freak out,”

“Those bastards. They didn’t hurt you bad, did they?” 

“I’ll be fine, really. Let’s just go, come on.” He tugged Dean’s wrist.

Dean sighed and put a gentle arm around Cas’ shoulders. Cas wrapped his arm around Dean’s waist, resting his hand on Dean’s hip and pulling the taller boy towards him. Dean couldn’t suppress a grin as he walked Castiel to their lockers – which just happened to be across the hall from each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you thought in the comments!


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean is back at school and, evidently, very easily flustered.

Dean didn’t see Castiel at all during his three day out of school suspension. 

Dean, Sam, and Gabe all were assigned a three day OSS. Castiel was let off the hook due to the fact that he hadn’t done anything except be targeted. If it weren’t for the fact that Crowley, Lucifer, and Balthazar had gotten an entire week of OSS, Dean would have been worrying himself sick over Cas’ wellbeing. He was still worrying, of course. He spent his first day asking himself, “What if Cas forgot his schedule and can’t remember his classes?” “What if I didn’t give Cas that set of notes and he doesn’t understand what’s happening in class?” “What if Cas got lost and no one noticed he’s missing?” and his least favorite, “What if it wasn’t just Crowley, Balthazar, and Lucifer? What if they’re going after him right now and Gabe and Sammy and I aren’t there to help him?” 

It was a rough first day for Dean.

The lack of communication was pretty much Dean’s fault. He forgot to ask Cas for his phone number, and it seemed Sam had made the same mistake with Gabe. The Winchester brothers sat around in their rooms, Dean trying furiously to catch up on the class work that various classmates had dropped off at his house, Sam searching through social media sites and trying to catch wind of how the Novaks were doing. Dean repeatedly resisted the urge to drive over to the school to check up on Cas, instead busying himself with his mildly confusing AP Biology homework. He was a day in a half into his suspension when his phone rang. 

“Hello?” Dean said.

“Hello Dean.” Castiel’s deep voice came through the ear piece. Dean jumped and nearly fell out of his chair. He didn’t know who he expected it to be, but he definitely hadn’t been expecting Castiel.

“Cas! What’s up?” 

“Nothing really, I just wanted to see how you were doing,”

“I’m fine, you?”

“Pretty good, haven’t gotten myself lost yet, so that’s a win I suppose.”

Dean laughed. “No problems with any classes?” 

“No, your notes are very detailed.”

“My handwriting is absolute shit; I don’t know how you’re reading them.”

“Be quiet, your handwriting is absolutely fabulous. I’ve had no trouble at all. How’ve you been doing?” 

“Fine, catching up on classwork. Sammy’s been driving himself mad trying to get ahold of your brother.”

“It would seem forgetting to ask for numbers is a Winchester thing then?” 

Dean was quiet for a moment. “Shut up.” He eventually mumbled. 

Castiel laughed. “I’ve got to get to class, this is my cell phone, I expect you to save my number.”

With that, Castiel hung up. Dean pulled his phone away from his ear, checking to see that Cas had really hung up on him. He shook his head, remembering to save Cas’ number before setting his phone down and moving on to his next stack of papers. 

[]

Castiel called Dean every day until Dean’s OSS was up. On Dean’s first day back, he was greeted with a tackling hug from Cas. Dean groaned a bit when Cas squeezed his arms to his sides. His shoulder was still a bit sore from Balthazar pinning his wrists behind his back. Cas loosened his grip a little and mumbled an apology into Dean’s neck. After a slightly-longer-than-friendly hug, Castiel released Dean and beamed up at him. Dean grinned back and gathered his books back up. He had abandoned them on a nearby desk when Castiel hug-attacked him. 

When Dean sat down, he realized for the first time that Cas’ desk was right behind his. Granted, he had only had class with Castiel once before getting suspended. Dean turned around in his seat to face Cas. 

“How was your suspension?” Cas asked.

“Boring.” Dean replied.

“I feel the same way. I quite enjoyed following you around all day.”

“Oh?”

“Mmhmm.” 

Cas pointed to the front of the room and Dean turned his head to see the teacher entering. Castiel slid a packet of notebook paper into Dean’s hand before Dean moved his legs back beneath his desk. Dean quietly flipped through the papers Castiel had handed him and found three days’ worth of notes in Castiel’s handwriting on top of the ones Dean had lent him. Dean slipped his notes back into their respective binders as their teacher sat at her desk taking attendance and checking emails. Dean began copying down Cas’ notes and continued doing so until the teacher stood and began speaking. 

Dean internally sighed before getting out a fresh sheet of paper and began taking his notes, copying down Castiel’s when the teacher waited for the slower writers to catch up.

By the end of class, he had finished with all the math notes that Cas had given him. Cas walked beside him to his next class, a bit too close to be friendly, but Dean didn’t mind. He was smiling like an idiot by the time they got to lunch. They sat down at Dean’s table, Cas choosing a seat closer to Dean than last time. Sam and Gabe slid into chairs across from Dean and Cas. 

“You have some of the cutest people at this school boys, I’ve gotta tell ya.” Gabriel said through a mouthful of school cafeteria hamburger. Sam wrinkled his nose at the sight and turned to his own food. Gabe immediately snapped his mouth closed, keeping it that way until he had swallowed his mouthful of food. 

“Sorry, Sammy. Didn’t take you for squeamish.” Gabe finally said. Sam looked back up at him. Gabe winked not too subtly and Sam snapped his gaze away.

“Don’t call me Sammy.” Sam mumbled, vibrantly blushing from his neck up. Gabe smirked at him before returning to his food. 

The group ate their lunches in silence. Cas gathered up the entire table’s trash, not-so-subtly brushing Dean’s shoulder when he got up. Gabe watched intently, waiting until Cas was out of earshot before speaking.

“My baby brother has a pretty big crush on you Deano.” 

Dean choked on his own spit. He was still coughing when Cas sat back down. 

Cas raised a curious eyebrow. “Dean, are you alright?” 

Dean nodded, gesturing wildly, hoping he was conveying that he was fine and just needed a moment. Once he was past his coughing fit, he pulled off his glasses and wiped the tears from his eyes. He slipped them back on his nose and saw Gabe grinning maniacally at him and Cas giving him a concerned look. Sam was openly staring at Gabe, something that Dean was sure he would tease him about later. The bell rang and Dean grabbed his books off of the table and quickly walked out of the cafeteria, Cas jogging to catch up with him. 

“Did Gabriel say something to upset you, Dean?” Cas asked when he managed to fall into step next to Dean. 

“It’s nothing,” 

“He did.” Castiel groaned. “He can be very upsetting and intrusive at times, I apologize on his behalf.” 

“Cas, it’s fine.”

“What did he say?”

Dean felt himself bushing madly. “N-nothing.” Dean walked faster, entering his next class and sitting down. He promptly buried his nose in his book. Cas slid into the seat next to him and firmly pushed Dean’s book away from his face. 

“Why won’t you talk about it if it has upset you so much?” Cas asked gently.

“It’s really nothing.” Dean said, trying to convince himself of the same, “Don’t bother yourself with it, I’m fine.”

The teacher walked in, sparing Dean from doing anymore explaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed! i don't really know how long i'm going to make this, so stay tuned! leave me a comment telling me what you thought! *flies back into the oblivion of my computer files*


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam took up tutoring for some extra credit in math

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SABRIEL INCOMING, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, SABRIEL INCOMING  
> ahh so super short chapter today, so sorry, hope you enjoy!

When Sam agreed to tutor someone for some extra credit in math, he didn’t think he was going to tutor anyone older than him. He was assuming he would get paired with a freshman, or at the very least a sophomore like himself, but a senior? He was a little surprised. 

He was even more surprised when Gabriel showed up.

“Sammy!” He exclaimed. 

Sam sighed exasperatedly. “Don’t call me Sammy.”

“Dean calls you Sammy.”

“Dean’s my brother. I’m not calling your brother Cassie, am I?”

Gabe pouted. “Fine.”

“So what do you need help with?”

“Math, obviously.”

“But what part of math? Trig, geometry, algebra?”

Gabe thought for a moment. “Algebra.”

“You have homework or something?” 

Gabe nodded and grabbed a textbook and notebook out of his bag. For nearly an hour after school, they worked through Gabe’s homework. Forty-five minutes in, Dean came up to the picnic table that Sam and Gabe had spread their things out on. 

“Were you planning on telling me that you were staying after school or did you expect me to sit in the car until you showed up?” Dean asked.

Castiel appeared behind him. “Gabriel, I thought you were driving the both of us home today?” He said.

“I am not waiting until you and Gabe are done with your little study-date. I’m going home with or without you. I have homework to get done.” Dean insisted. 

“Th-this isn’t a-a d-date!” Sam sputtered. Gabe clamped a hand over Sam’s mouth.

“I’ll bring Sammy home if you take Cassie?” Gabriel suggested. Dean squinted at him, scrutinizing. Gabe glanced between Castiel (who was staring at a flock of birds twittering from a power line) and Dean, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Dean’s neck flushed before he finally nodded, gently yanking the back of Cas’ trench coat to catch his attention before leading him away to the Impala. 

Sam wrestled Gabe’s hand off of his mouth. Gabe stared at his hand.

“Did you lick me?” Gabe asked.

“I don’t know what you expected.” Sam grumbled. 

Gabe laughed. “Okay then.” 

They went back to Gabe’s homework. After another twenty minutes of correcting Gabe’s formulas, his homework was finished. 

“D’you wanna go get something to eat?” Gabe asked.

“Do I… you mean like a date?” Sam replied.

“I mean… if you want…” Gabe was suddenly seeming shy. 

Sam smiled at his bashfulness. “I’d love to.” 

Gabe’s eyes lit up. “Awesome! My car’s over here.” Gabe ran into the parking lot and excitedly fumbled with his keys before catching the remote and unlocking the doors. Backpacks were thrown into the backseat as Gabe drove them off. 

[]

Cas and Dean argued for nearly fifteen minutes about the radio station once they had left Gabe and Sam. Dean was pushing for classic rock while Cas was insisting on classical. Castiel finally let Dean win, simply so they could leave. Dean drove off with a smug look on his face. 

Dean’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he slipped it out, handing it to Cas. 

“Could you read me that text?” Dean asked.

“What’s your passcode,”

“7825,”

He heard his phone unlock. 

“It would seem Sam is going on a date with Gabriel.” Castiel said.

Dean braked hard when they came to the stop light. Cas yelped a bit. Dean’s knuckles were white against the steering wheel. 

“Dean, I know you don’t have much love for my brother, but he won't hurt Sam. You have my word.” Castiel murmured. He placed a hand on Dean’s knee and rubbed circles against it with his thumb. Dean relaxed minutely and continued driving. Cas’ hand stayed on his knee, absent-mindedly tracing shapes and symbols on his thigh. Cas directed Dean to his house and Dean was disappointed when Cas pointed it out. He didn’t want to leave Cas just yet.

“Do you, like, want to come to my house? It’s a Friday… you could stay the night? I mean, only if you want to…” Dean stammered.

Cas was silent for a moment, “I thought you’d never ask.” He finally said, a grin plastered across his face.

Dean drove away from Castiel’s street, and towards his own house. 

He couldn’t really be mad at Gabe for taking his little brother out now, could he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize again for how short it was today, but i hope you enjoyed! leave me a comment telling me what you think!


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam meets the mother and Gabe inadvertently proves a point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brace for impact, here we go, enjoy yourself, yadda yadda yadda

Gabriel drove them to TGI Friday’s.

“We’re here!” He announced in a sing song voice when he pulled into the parking lot. The pair got out of the car and Sam followed Gabe into the restaurant. The hostess’ face lit up when she saw Gabriel. She walked around her little podium and pulled Gabe into a hug. The woman looked familiar to Sam, though he was sure he had never seen her before. She had striking blue eyes and caramel hair pulled up into a ponytail. 

“Gabe! What are you doing down here?” The woman asked. She glanced behind Gabe and noticed Sam. Sam gave her a tentative wave. “Are you on a date?” She asked. Sam’s face flushed and he hunched his shoulders in. The woman released Gabe and strode towards Sam, holding out a hand.

“Hi, I’m Gabriel’s mom.” She said with a warm smile. Sam shook her hand and smiled back.

“I’m Sam, it’s nice to meet you Ms. Novak,”

“You too, Sam. Two then?” Gabe’s mom grabbed two menus and two sets of silverware. “Right this way.” She led them through the restaurant and to a table. “Your server will be Annie; can I get you two anything to drink?”

“Water’s fine.” Sam said.

“Sweetened iced tea, please.” Gabe added.

“One water and one iced tea with enough sugar to rot your teeth, that’ll be right out.” Gabe’s mom said before walking away. 

Twenty minutes later, their food was in front of them. Sam had gotten a salad and Gabe had ordered a burger. They started in on their food. When Sam was about halfway through his salad and Gabe had already torn through his whole burger, Gabe’s mom came back over. She slid into the booth next to Gabriel. Gabe had been staring at Sam for a while now. When Ms. Novak came over and Gabriel’s attention was diverted to his mother, Sam couldn’t help but take him in. The shape of his shoulders, the color of his eyes, the way he smiled when he saw someone he liked. “I wonder if that’s how he smiles when he sees me,” Sam found himself thinking. Ms. Novak and Gabriel talked for a while before she stood up. 

“Wonderful to meet you Sam,” She said warmly. 

She walked out of Friday’s, apparently her shift was over. Gabe looked back at Sam before Sam realized he was still staring. He dropped his eyes, feeling a blush creeping up his cheeks. Gabe snickered a bit. After another five or so minutes, Sam had finished his food.

“You done?” Gabe asked.

Sam nodded and Gabe threw a few bills on the table. Gabe grabbed Sam by the hand and led him out of the restaurant. 

Just as they had passed through doors, Sam stopped and pulled Gabriel closer to him. Steeling himself, he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on Gabe’s lips. The shorter boy inhaled sharply before relaxing and leaning further into Sam. Gabe’s lips were soft and he tried to intensify things. Sam didn’t allow it to get too heated. After all, they were outside a packed restaurant that Gabe’s mom worked at. All too soon, Sam was pulling away. The pair stared at each other for a moment before Sam laced his fingers with Gabe’s and pulled them towards Gabe’s car. 

Gabe sat for a while with his hands on the steering wheel, the car not yet started. Sam shivered a bit. The temperature had dropped since the sun went down. Gabe noticed and quickly apologized before turning the key and driving off.

[]

When Dean and Cas pulled up to the Winchester residence, Dean waited in the car for a moment before getting out and motioning for Cas to follow. They stepped inside and stood awkwardly in the foyer for a minute before Cas spoke

“Are your parents home?” He asked curiously.

“No,” Dean said.

“Good.” 

Cas strode towards Dean, pressing him against a wall. Dean was about to ask Cas what in hell he was doing, but before he could form the words, Cas was kissing him. His lips were as chapped as they always looked and Dean couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his hands around the back of Cas’ neck and pulling him closer. They kissed for what felt like an eternity, only pausing to breathe. Dean was about to suggest they move things into the living room, as his spine was rubbing uncomfortably against the plaster of the wall, before the door opened. Cas pulled off of him and Dean glanced around his impossibly further mussed hair to see a surprised looking Sam standing in front of a smug Gabriel. 

“Hey, Sammy,” Dean said, trying to sound casual while pinned against a wall and twined around Castiel. 

“I told you he had a crush on him.” Gabriel said matter-of-factly from behind Sam.

“Is that what you were upset about, Dean?” Castiel asked.

“So should we just go?” Sam broke in.

“Yes.” Gabe, Dean, and Cas said in unison. 

Sam immediately closed the door.

“You were upset because Gabriel said that I liked you?” Cas asked, sounding hurt. 

“I… I don’t know… it just got me… flustered I guess,” Dean mumbled.

Cas sighed before leaning in to gently kiss Dean. “He wasn’t supposed to tell you,” Cam murmured when he pulled away, “But I do like you,” Cas kissed him again.

“I like you too,” Dean whispered against Cas’ mouth. He felt Cas smile against him and pulled him closer again, picking up where they had left off.

[]

“So what should we do now?” Gabe asked when they were back in his car.

“Bleach my eyes.” Sam grumbled.

“Oh, Sam, that was just them kissing. They could have been having sex,” 

“DON’T SAY THAT, NOW I’M PICTURING IT, GODDAMMIT GABRIEL!” 

Gabriel laughed quietly. “Do you want to go back to my place?”

“Please,”

Gabriel pulled away from the Winchester house and drove back towards his house on the other side of town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaannnd there we go! hope you enjoyed! this entire story has only been proofread by myself, so please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes. leave me a comment telling me what you think! *pterodactyl noises*


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Balthazar, Crowley, and Lucifer are back at school. Dean should've known everything that could go wrong, would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Physical abuse

“Would you like to go out Friday afternoon?” Castiel asked the second Dean sat down at his desk in first period on Monday.

“What, like a date?”

“Ideally, yes.”

“Sure,” 

Dean turned to face his own desk and grabbed his book. He was able to read for a good thirty seconds before someone pulled the book out of his hands and slammed it on his desk. 

“What the…” Dean trailed off when he looked up.

Balthazar was there.

Crowley and Lucifer weren’t in his first period, but he knew that at least one of them was in every one of his classes for the entire day. Dean swallowed hard. Before he could get a sound out, Balthazar had grabbed Dean’s glasses off of his nose. In a flash, they were across the room. Dean managed to yelp a “The fuck!” before jumping out of his chair and running to the wall they had smashed against. The right arm was snapped off and the lenses were shattered. Dean groaned inwardly. His spares were God knows where and without them, he couldn’t see anything. The world had become colorful, fuzzy objects for Dean. He shoved the remains of his glasses into his pocket and stalked back to his desk. Balthazar had left, thankfully, and Castiel was giving him a look Dean couldn’t have described because he couldn’t. Fucking. See it. Dean couldn’t make sense of anything up close or far away. 

Since Dean had gotten to school way earlier than he needed to (Sammy had to tutor a group of freshmen) he stalked out of the room to his locker. After trying to find the correct numbers for his locker combo three times with no success, he made a frustrated noise and kicked the metal door in anger. His toes gave protest to his outburst and he sank to the ground, back against the locker he couldn’t open. 

“Dean?” Castiel asked from somewhere beside him. “Do you need some help?” 

“I can’t get my locker open.” Dean grumbled, “Can’t see the numbers.”

Cas sighed. “What’s your combo?” 

Dean slid to the side a bit so Castiel could access his locker before rattling off the numbers. The locker popped open with a familiar metallic sound.

“What am I looking for?” Cas asked.

“My spare pair of glasses. They’re probably not even in there, I just wanted to check,” 

Cas dug around in Dean’s locker for a while. “No, I don’t think they’re here.”

“Thanks for the help anyways. I should probably head to the office and get myself dismissed, I’m useless without them. Can’t see anything.” He stood and fell against the row of lockers with a small gasp of pain. “And it seems I broke my toe.”

“You can’t drive like this,”

“I’ll be fine. Just need to go to the hospital, go home, find my glasses… never mind I’m not going to find my glasses, I stepped on them last week.” Dean sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“I’ll take you. You’re going to crash your car.” 

“No way. I can handle the drive.”

Dean reached in his locker and grabbed his things, shoving the books he had out for first period in his bag and grabbing his keys off of one of the hooks. He shut his locker and was immediately pressed against it. Cas pressed a kiss against Dean’s lips and grabbed the keys while Dean was distracted. Dean made an annoyed noise when Cas pulled away, dangling his keys in front of him. 

“No fair.” Dean whined. 

Cas grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the office, helping him with the sign out papers. The secretary didn’t take any action to keep the pair at school after Dean had tripped over a trashcan and Cas pulled the shattered glasses out of Dean’s pocket. Dean was still laying on the ground when Cas finished the paper work, handing it over to the secretary. Just as Cas was starting to pull Dean off of the ground, the vice principal walked into the office. He looked at Dean for a moment before diverting his attention to Cas.

“Is he… all right?” Mr. Bentham asked.

“Broke his glasses, hurt his foot when he kicked his locker because he couldn’t see the numbers to put his combination in, and tripped over the trashcan when he was trying to walk to a chair?” Cas said.

“I’m fantastic!” Dean shouted sarcastically from his face down position on the office’s carpet.

“Dean, you’re going to get sick.” Cas murmured. 

Dean just groaned into the ground. Cas sighed exasperatedly before grabbing both of Dean’s hands and pulling him into a kneeling position. Dean yelped when he sat back on his feet, kicking his legs in front of him and sitting back down. 

“Dean, come on,” Cas grabbed his hands again and pulled him to his feet. 

Dean cried out in pain when he accidentally put weight on his foot. He leaned heavily into Cas’ side. Cas helped him limp to the Impala, loading him into the passenger’s side before climbing into the driver’s. They drove out of the school parking lot and in the direction of the hospital. 

[]

“Well Mr. Winchester, you broke three out of five of your toes on your right foot. We’re going to put you on some pretty heavy painkillers so you’ll be able to walk and show you how to tape them up so they heal properly. Okay?” The nurse said.

“All right.” Dean answered.

The nurse nodded and motioned the doctor in. A prescription was shoved into Dean’s hand and at some point, someone was taping his toes together. Castiel had left to use the restroom and Dean was incredibly bored. The nurse and doctor left and suddenly, Dean was bored and lonely. He was only alone for three minutes, but Dean missed Cas terribly. His face lit up when Cas returned.

“Ready to go?” Cas asked.

“Yep.” Dean flashed his prescription and Cas nodded.

“I already filled out the release forms and all of that.”

Cas supported Dean’s weight as they left the hospital. Cas took him to a drug store to get his painkillers and watched Dean down two of the pills when they got back in the car. 

“Back to your house?” Cas asked.

“Sure.”

Cas drove them to Dean’s house. When they pulled into the driveway, Dean’s muscles tensed. 

“What’s wrong, Dean?” Cas asked.

“Nothing… it’s just… nothing.” 

“It’s something.”

“My dad’s home is all.” 

“Is that a problem?”

Dean shrugged weakly.

“Come on then.” Cas said before getting out of the car and walking to the other side to support Dean if necessary. 

Dean couldn’t help but lean heavily on Cas. His right foot refused to support any weight and the painkillers hadn’t kicked in yet. Castiel half carried, half dragged Dean to the front door. Dean shoved his key in the lock and paused.

“Please don’t freak out. About him I mean.” Dean said quietly.

Cas nodded dutifully and Dean turned the knob on the door. He immediately pushed Cas down into a crouch next to him when a bottle soared through the air towards the door. Dean winced and Castiel inhaled sharply. Dean looked up and shrank back at the sight of his disheveled and clearly drunk father standing in the door way. 

“Why the hell ain’t you at school, boy?” John Winchester asked, looking critically at his still crouching son.

“I-I had to go to the hospital,” Dean stuttered. 

Cas tentatively stood up, pulling Dean with him. John glared at the way Dean sank into Cas’ side.

“The fuck did you do?” John asked.

“Broke three of the toes in my right foot,” 

John grabbed Dean by the collar of his shirt and dragged him through the door.

“Get off of my property!” John shouted at Cas before slamming the front door. 

Cas thought for a moment and slowly crouched back down to get out of the view of the frosted windows on the door. Cas heard something slamming against the door. Dean yelped a bit. John growled something at Dean and Cas winced when he heard the telltale sound of skin on skin. A few more painful sounds came from behind the door before Cas moved away and pulled out his phone. Who was he supposed to call? Surely not the police. If Dean needed to call the police, he would’ve. Cas sighed and dialed Gabriel.

“What’s up bro?” Gabe asked, picking up before the second ring. 

“I think Dean needs help.” Cas said urgently.

“In what way?” Gabriel’s voice was immediately concerned.

“His father is… hitting him.”

Cas heard a muffled voice that sounded like Sam’s. 

“We’ll be right over.” Gabe said after a moment. 

“All right.” Cas said before hanging up. 

John was shouting at Dean now. Cas quietly willed Gabe and Sam to get here faster. 

[]

Gabe pulled into the driveway ten minutes later. The three of them didn’t waste time making a plan. With Sam and Gabe as backup, Cas walked up to the front door and knocked. Something hit something and the door opened. John Winchester was snarling at the trio.

“I thought I told you to get off my property!” He growled at Castiel. 

Before any of the group could see it coming, John Winchester had landed a punch on the underside of Castiel’s jaw. Cas yelped and stumbled back. Gabriel immediately bounded forward, grabbing John by the collar of his shirt and dragging him out of the house. He forced the older man against the siding of the house, holding him there despite his struggles.

“Sam, call the police. Castiel, I don’t know why I have to tell you to go check on Dean.” Gabriel growled through gritted teeth. 

Sam yanked out his phone and dialed 911 while Cas bolted into the house. Dean was crumpled against the wall with blood dripping out of his nose. 

“Dean? Dean!” Cas shouted, grabbing Dean by the shoulders and shaking him gently. 

Dean opened his eyes for a moment, giving Cas a weak smile, before his eyes slid shut again and he slumped over, unconscious. 

“Sam you have better have an ambulance coming!” Cas shouted, still trying to rouse Dean.

A chorus of sirens sounded in the distance.

“Dean. Dean, come on, we have a date on Friday, please Dean!” Cas said, tears starting to slip down his face. Castiel sat down on the hardwood, letting a loud sob escape his throat.

[]

The last things Dean heard was Cas shouting for an ambulance, sirens wailing and Cas quietly crying before he lost the fight to stay conscious and let his eyes slip closed.

He only hoped they would open again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cliffhanger!!!!! *bum bum buuuuuuuuum*  
> hope you guys enjoyed, leave me a comment telling me what you think!


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean's in the ICU, will he wake up in time for the date that Cas promised him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldnt leave you guys hanging for long so here it is!

The sirens got closer and closer until a paramedic was pulling Cas off of Dean. He was ushered to where Sam and Gabe were standing. Gabe pulled Cas into a tight hug, letting him cry into his shirt. By the time his sobs slowed, Dean had been whisked away to the hospital they both had been at not an hour earlier. Gabe and Sam insisted that he couldn’t go to see Dean yet. John, the bastard, had landed Dean in the ICU. The only one that could visit was Sam. 

Gabe eventually got Cas into his car and drove him home. Cas was curled up in the back seat, counting the cracks in the back of the leather of the passenger’s seat, while Sam and Gabe quietly talked. They thought Cas had fallen asleep and were trying to be considerate. The drive back home seemed too long and too short at the same time. Cas somehow ended up in his bed, curled up around a mound of blankets instead of under them. 

After a long while of simply crying, Cas got out of bed. He obviously wasn’t going to sleep, so he might as well be productive with his time. He grabbed his journal and pulled on a pair of socks. He was still in his clothes from the day, having not had the determination to change them. He opened up his window, popping out the screen and pulling it inside. He put his journal in between his teeth and climbed out onto the ledge, pulling himself up on the roof. He climbed to a flat part of a roof and sat down. Streetlights were nonexistent in this part of the neighborhood and the stars were perfectly visible. Cas laid back to look straight up through the branches of the large tree in their front yard. 

The stars seemed too bright, offensive to the state that Dean was in. How could the universe around Cas be functioning smoothly when Castiel felt like his was collapsing? He was distantly aware that he was crying. He didn’t feel sad as much as empty. His head felt like it was stuffed full of cotton balls and his emotions felt dull. 

Cas grabbed his journal off of the roof and pulled a pen out of the spine of the worn down book. He flicked through the pages until he came to a clean one and began writing.

[]

Cas had filled up three front and back pages before he finally broke through the curtains in his mind. His thoughts stopped sounding muffled and he was able feel his emotions. The chill of the night was beginning to register in the tips of his fingers and the edges of his ears. Cas shivered before slipping down to the edge of the roof, catching a tree branch and climbing through the tree until he could get to the branch that tapped against his window and slipping back into his room. The sun was beginning to rise when Cas pulled off the socks he had put on and yanked off his jeans and t-shirt, climbing back into bed in nothing but his boxers. He fell asleep not thirty seconds after he had laid down.

[]

Sam had never been as angry at his father as he was when he visited Dean in the ICU.

Dean hadn’t woken up. Sam sat in a chair next to Dean’s bed with no idea what to do. He planted his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands, trying to shove away the headache that was beginning to form. 

Dean’s face was covered with bruises. More than half of his ribs were bruised or broken and the doctor had speculated that he had a pretty serious concussion. There were cuts along Dean’s arms from God only knows what. Sam clenched his fists, his mind not registering the pain of his nails digging into his palms until he had broken the skin. 

Sam swallowed before working up the courage to speak to his unconscious brother. “Dean, I swear to God if you don’t wake up soon, I… I don’t even know. Gabe said Cas isn’t doing too well, he needs you. He can’t even come see you ‘cause of their stupid ICU rules. You need to get better fast, Dean.” 

Sam stalked out of the hospital room. Gabe looked up from his phone and smiled sadly at Sam. Sam sat in the seat next to him and shoved his palms against his forehead. When he pulled them away, Gabe half snorted, half gasped.

“You’ve got blood on your face.” He explained.

Sam groaned loudly. Gabe grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him into the bathroom. He grabbed a wet paper towel and wiped the blood Sam had smeared on his forehead away before carefully cleaning his palms off, revealing four little crescent moons on either hand. 

“Ready to go home?” Gabe asked.

“Your home or mine?” Sam replied.

“Whichever you’d like.”

Sam thought for a moment. “Yours.”

Gabe nodded and led Sam out of the hospital. They drove back to Gabe’s house in silence. 

[]

“Sam, honey, I’m making breakfast, do you like your eggs scrambled?” Ms. Novak called from the kitchen. 

“Yes, thank you.” Sam answered. 

He had learned from the first night he had stayed with the Novaks that if Ms. Novak offered you food, you were going to eat it whether or not you wanted it. He had tried to insist that he wasn’t hungry, but Ms. Novak hadn’t left him alone until he had eaten something. If she thought you were hungry, you were eating something. 

It had been three days since that first night.

“Boys, come on, breakfast is ready!” Ms. Novak yelled up the stairs to Gabe and Cas. 

“Cassie won’t get out of bed!” Gabe cried back.

Ms. Novak sighed before turning to Sam. “Could you go give him a hand, Sam?” 

Sam nodded, pulling himself off of the couch and climbing the stairs. Gabe was sitting on top of a lump in Castiel’s bed.

“How is that getting him up?” Sam groaned.

Sam shoved Gabe off of Cas and yanked the covers back. Cas made an annoyed noise and curled up into a tight ball.

“Cas, I’m only going to tell you about Dean if you get out of bed and get downstairs.” Sam grumbled.

“That’s not fair.” Cas whined. 

Sam shrugged and left the room, pulling Gabe after him. Cas emerged two minutes later in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. They all went down the stairs and sat down at the table where Ms. Novak had already laid out four plates of eggs. 

Cas waited until Sam was finished with his breakfast before asking the question that had been biting at the back of his mind since Gabe had barged into his room and sat on him. 

“How is he?” 

“He hasn’t woken up yet,” Sam started carefully, “He’s still pretty bruised up, his ribs are healing a little, cuts on his arms have scabbed over.”

A terse silence settled over the group that was broken when Sam’s phone vibrated on the table.

“Hello?” Sam said.

“Sam Winchester?” An unfamiliar voice replied.

“Speaking.”

“Your brother has woken up. You can bring a few visitors with you this time, but try to keep it light, he doesn’t need to be strained.”

“Of course! We’ll be over as soon as possible. Thanks. Bye.” 

Sam hung up. Everyone was staring at him eagerly.

“Dean’s awake and out of the ICU.” Sam said.

Cas jumped out of his chair. “Let’s go.” 

No one argued when Ms. Novak slid into the passenger’s seat and Cas jumped into the car in his pajamas with two different shoes on. Gabe pulled out of the drive way and paid little attention to the speed limit on his way to the hospital.

Cas had never been so excited to go to a hospital in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm too nice to you guys  
> leave me a comment telling me what you think!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean is visited by everyone in the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dunno if i should even bother apologizing for short chapters anymore xc

“One of you should go in and talk to him first. Make sure you don’t overwhelm him with your little party.” A nurse suggested when Sam, Gabe, Cas, and Ms. Novak showed up.

“I’ll go.” Sam decided, ducking into the hospital room.

Dean was still laying down. The lights in the room were off and the blinds blocked out the sunlight. 

“Dean?” Sam said quietly.

Dean’s eyes opened. “Sammy? That you?”

“Yeah, yeah it’s me. How’re you feeling?”

“That is the worst question you could’ve asked.” Dean grumbled before sitting up, biting back a hiss of pain from his ribs. Sam gave him a gentle hug.

“Gabe and Ms. Novak and Cas are here,” 

“Cas?” Dean said hopefully.

“Want me to go get him?”

“Obviously!”

Sam laughed quietly before leaving the room to grab Cas. The dark haired boy was trying to look through the window in the door to Dean’s room. He bolted into the room the second Sam opened the door. 

“Cas? Please tell me that’s you.” Dean said when Cas closed the door behind him.

“It’s me.”

“Thank God. Well don’t just stand around, come here,”

Cas walked towards the bed and laughed when Dean grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him closer. He sat on the edge of the bed, willing his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. 

“I can’t see anything.” Cas mumbled.

“Even playing field, then.” 

Dean wrapped a hand around the back of Cas’ neck, pulling him into a long and gentle kiss. When they separated, the rested their foreheads against each other, silent for a long while.

“I missed you.” Cas finally whispered, “I couldn’t visit you since I’m not family.”

“I know. I missed you too.” 

“You remember being in the ICU, then?”

“No. I just know that if you weren’t there that I missed you.”

Cas could feel himself blushing. “Can I turn on a light yet?”

“I suppose.”

Cas reached for the light switch panel, flipping on one of them. 

“Sorry, I probably look like hell on earth.” Dean said.

“I didn’t expect you to be winning Miss America, Dean. What makes you think I care what you look like at the moment?”

“At the moment?” Dean repeated.

“Well attractiveness never hurts,”

Dean playfully smacked Cas on the arm. A knock at the door startled them. 

“Mr. Winchester?” An unfamiliar voice called. 

Dean grabbed Cas by the shoulder and pulled him down to lay beside him. 

“Maybe if I pretend to be asleep they’ll leave us alone.” Dean conspiratorially whispered in Cas’ ear.

Cas muffled a laugh in Dean’s shoulder. The door opened and Dean snapped his eyes closed. A woman in scrubs came in.

“I think he fell asleep?” Cas said, trying to contain his laughter.

The nurse gave him an incredulous look and Dean let out a snicker.

“Very funny boys. You can have your alone time later; we need to do some tests.” She said.

“What are you talking about, I’m clearly asleep,” Dean insisted, still keeping his eyes closed. 

“You can wait in here, but you’ll need to get out of the bed.” The nurse told Castiel.

“Of course.” Cas said, untangling himself from Dean and moving to sit in a chair next to the bed. 

Dean groaned before opening his eyes. He complied with all the nurse asked him to do up until she pointed at a vision chart on the far side of the room.

“Nope.” Dean said.

“What do you mean ‘nope’?” The nurse asked.

“My glasses got messed up. Can’t see for shit.” 

“Sam said he was having a new pair made.” Cas broke in.

“When are they going to be ready?” Dean asked.

“I could go ask him?” 

“No, it’s fine.” Dean turned back to the nurse, “I can’t see anything on that poster so you may as well not waste your time.”

The nurse huffed, “Well that’s all then. I’ll send in your little party on my way out.” 

Dean grabbed Cas’ hand and dragged him back to the bed. Cas gave a surprised squeak when Dean pulled him up to lay down next to him. Dean tucked his head into Castiel’s neck.

“We still have that date on Friday, right?” Dean murmured as Sam, Gabe, and Ms. Novak came in the room.

“Of course we do.” Cas whispered back.

“Good.”

“Mom, this is Dean Winchester. Dean, that’s my mom.” Cas said, speaking louder.

“Hello, Ms. Novak. Nice to meet you.” Dean pulled his head off of Cas’ shoulder to shake hands with Ms. Novak.

“Nice to meet you too, Dean.” Ms. Novak said with a warm smile.

“Hey, Sam, when did you say those glasses will be ready?” Cas asked.

“Tomorrow afternoon.” Sam replied.

Dean groaned.

“You’re the one who stepped on the spares,” Sam pointed out.

“Whatever!” Dean replied.

They spent hours chatting about nothing. The lighthearted conversation was only interrupted when Ms. Novak released an irritated sigh.

“I have to go into work. Who am I dropping off and who is walking home?” She said.

Sam and Gabe reluctantly shuffled out the door. Ms. Novak gave Cas a curious look.

“I have money; I can call a cab.” Cas insisted.

Ms. Novak nodded and followed Sam and Gabe out of the room. 

Dean pulled Cas in for another kiss.

“Thanks for staying,” Dean mumbled.

Cas just smiled and kissed him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY DIALOGUE BATMAN!   
> i know, i know, this was kinda a filler chapter. i think i know where i want this to go so i may be able to say how many chapter this'll have soon. stay tuned!   
> *pterodactyl noises*


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean is finally out of the hospital!

They made the 6:00 news on the night of the trial. 

They didn’t use their names, even got some of the story wrong, but they were still there.

“Tonight in the news, a single father of two is being tried on twelve counts of child abuse. The man was found beating his eldest son last Monday by two neighborhood boys. While the elder son’s brother called the police, one of the neighbors fought against the father and the other cared for the nearly unconscious boy. What will come of the two brothers? Only time will tell.” 

“Turn that load of shit off!” Sam yelled over the TV, throwing a pillow at Gabe's head.

Gabe laughed loudly, holding the remote out of Sam’s reach. “Why don’t you come make me?”

Sam growled, leaping over the back of the couch at Gabe. They wrestled on the floor until Sam had Gabriel pinned securely underneath him.

“I give! You win!” Gabe shouted when Sam started tickling at his sides. Sam snatched the remote out of Gabe’s hand, promptly changing the channel. 

“You two are children, I swear.” Castiel mumbled on his way to the kitchen. 

Ms. Novak was working a late shift, so Castiel was working on their dinner. Dean was in the kitchen, sat backwards on a dining room chair that he had dragged into the kitchen with one hand. He was on a single crutch to avoid injuring his foot further. 

“Sam, Gabe, set the table, please.” Cas yelled into the living room. 

He ignored the groans from both of them in favor of the pan on the stove. 

“What’re you making?” Dean asked.

“Vegetable curry with rice.” Cas answered. “Get in the dining room, I’ll be out in a second.”

Dean pouted before grabbing his crutch and pulling his chair back to the table.

Cas turned off the stove and grabbed four bowls out of an overhead cupboard. He quickly spooned the rice and vegetables into them and took them into the dining room. Everyone immediately dug in. There was nothing to say about manners when Ms. Novak wasn’t home. The food was gone in a matter of minutes, with a considerable amount left on faces and smeared on the table. 

Cas sighed. “Someone is going to have to clean this up,”

“Not it!” Sam and Gabe shouted together before sprinting up the stairs. 

Dean stood up and started gathering the bowls and forks. 

“Dean, you don’t have to…” 

“It’s no big deal, Cas. Really. I can handle carrying some dishes.”

Cas sighed again before getting up to grab a washcloth from the kitchen. He wiped off the table quickly before going back into the kitchen where Dean was trying to wash dishes one handed.

“Dean, why don’t you just dry them?” Cas suggested when Dean almost fell over from attempting to balance without actually holding the crutch. 

Dean made a frustrated noise before scooching over to a clear part of the counter, allowing Cas to stand in front of the sink. 

They made quick work of the dishes, cracking jokes as they did. Soon, the dishes were all clean and Castiel was sitting on the counter. Dean was leaning on the breakfast bar, admiring the look on Cas’ face when he laughed. After a while, Dean was sitting on the counter next to Cas, his head tucked into Cas’ neck. 

“Where are we going to go on Friday?” Dean asked.

“It’s a secret.”

“You have no idea, do you?” 

“Sh. Maybe if I believe it enough an idea will come to me.”

Dean laughed. 

“Do you want to go to bed?” Cas asked after a moment of silence.

“Are you going to come with me?”

“You know my mom would kill us.”

“She doesn’t have to know. It’s not like we’re going to do anything.” 

Cas thought for a moment. “Fine.”

He slid off of the counter, helping Dean off after him. 

They climbed into Cas’ bed after the five-minute fiasco of getting Dean up the stairs. Dean snuggled into Cas’ side, sighing happily before falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know, this chapter is not only short, but it's up later than i wouldve liked it to be, but i was a little busy yesterday. so dont hate me toooooo much. i dont know when the next one will be up, hopefully within the next couple of days.  
> anyway, hope you enjoyed! leave me a comment telling me what you thought!  
> *pterodactyl noises*


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas did say they were having that date on Friday.

Dean was back in school on Friday. 

Balthazar was in ISS with Crowley and Lucifer. Apparently someone had heard their plans for getting back at Dean and reported the three of them to the principal. 

Dean and Cas were practically attached at the hip during school since Dean could barely carry his books and had to leave every class early to make it to the next one on time with his crutch.

Besides some snide comments from the part of the football team that wasn’t holed up in the ISS room, the day was peaceful. No lunch room fights, no glasses shattered against the wall, no breaking bones on lockers, nothing. It almost felt weird, but Dean didn’t mind. He was just worried about he and Cas’ date that night. He had laid out around thirty different outfits on his bed before Cas had picked him up for school. He still didn’t know where they were going. Cas had insisted that he would like it, but that didn’t do anything to ease Dean’s nerves. 

Why was Dean even getting nervous about this? He and Cas had made out for God’s sake, what was he worried about? That Cas wouldn’t like him? If that was true, Cas would’ve dropped the date days ago. Dean had given him plenty of opportunities to do so, promising that he wouldn’t hurt his feelings.

It was ridiculous, Dean was getting worked up over nothing. They practically spent every day together anyways. 

Dean was still worrying that Cas would suddenly drop him by the time he was standing on the sidewalk outside of his house, waiting to get picked up. What if he just didn’t show up? What if Dean got hypothermia? Can you even get that when it’s forty-five degrees outside? Probably!

Dean’s mind began supplying him with a different set of worst-case-scenarios when Cas picked him up. What if Cas got so bored that he went to the bathroom and climbed out the window? What if he stayed, but only because he pitied Dean and didn’t want him to feel left out? 

Dean barely noticed when they pulled up outside a little retro-style diner. Cas got out before Dean and walked around the car to help Dean get out and onto his crutch without falling over and bashing his head on the pavement. They walked into the little restaurant, Cas holding the door for Dean and grinning at the annoyed face Dean pulled at not only having to be helped out of the car, but needing the door held for him. 

The two of them sat in a cracked leather booth. It only took a moment for a smiley waitress to walk over.

“Can I get you two anything to drink?” She asked.

“Two iced teas.” Cas proclaimed loudly when he noticed the way the waitress was surveying Dean.

Her shoulders fell a bit. “Great,” She slid two menus on the table, “Joel will have those right out for you.” She walked away to a table on the other side of the restaurant.

“Little jealous there, aren’t you Cas?” Dean mumbled.

Cas blushed. “Shut up.” 

Dean laughed at him before picking up a menu and skimming it quickly. 

“The burgers are good.” Cas suggested. 

Dean nodded thoughtfully before deciding.

“What’re you gonna get?” Cas asked.

“Sky Line burger looks good.”

Conversation switched to debating whether Sky Way or Swenson’s had better burgers than the other after a moment. Dean was on Swenson’s side while Cas was insisting that Sky Way was clearly superior.

“How can you decide if you haven’t lived here all your life?” Dean finally challenged.

“You’re biased! You clearly always ate Swenson’s as a kid and were loyal to Swenson’s before you gave poor Sky Way a chance!” 

“If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it!” 

“Erm, excuse me?” Someone asked.

Dean and Cas both looked towards the waiter that was standing next to the table.

“I’m Joel, I’ll be your waiter tonight.” Joel said before sliding iced teas in front of Dean and Cas. “Have you decided on food or do you need some more time?” 

“I think we’re ready.” Cas said when Dean shot him a questioning look.

Joel nodded, pulling out a pad and pen. Dean and Cas both ordered a Sky Line burger, agreeing to split an order of fries.

“Will that be all?” Joel asked when they finished ordering.

“Think so.” Cas said.

Joel turned to leave before pausing. “One more thing, Swenson’s trumps Sky Way every time.”

Dean shouted in victory well Cas groaned and smacked his forehead down on the table.

Conversation was less debate heavy once Cas agreed that Swenson’s had better fries than Sky Way. 

The food came twenty minutes later. The pair pushed speaking aside in favor of taking almost-too-big bites of the fresh burgers. The meat was perfectly cooked and the toppings somehow stayed in their place. Dean nearly took off the tips of his fingers when he wasn’t paying attention to the size of the bites he was taking. The fries were gone in a similar fashion. 

Before they knew it, it was eight o’clock. Cas paid the bill despite Dean’s protests before helping load Dean into the car and driving away. 

Cas hesitated when they pulled up to Dean’s house. Nothing had come of the trial the first and second days. The case was set to be settled next weekend, when Dean and Sam could appear in court, and John was out on bail. 

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay? My mom won’t mind you staying the night.” Cas asked.

“I’ll be fine, Cas. I’ll call you if anything happens. I promise.” Dean said.

Cas sighed, pulling into the driveway. He helped Dean out and leaned on the hood of his car until Dean got into the house. Dean gave him a final wave before closing the front door behind him. Cas sighed and climbed back into the car, ensuring that his phone was on before driving off.

John was passed out on the couch when Dean came in. Empty liquor bottles were strewn around him. Dean winced as the stairs creaked under his weight. Dean was on the edge of panic by the time he made it into his room, collapsing on his bed. He silently wished he had taken Cas’ offer and stayed with him, but Sam was home and he didn’t want to leave him alone with his father. 

Dean sighed quietly before performing the tedious and slightly dangerous task of changing. He read for hours once he was done, only feeling tired when he looked at his phone and saw that it was nearly midnight. He yawned and flipped off his light before falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright alright alright! so you might have noticed that there is an end chapter set now! i had some time to set up a bit of a storyboard and know where this is going to end now. *cries because i kinda never want this to end*
> 
> anywho, onto normal business.
> 
> leave me a comment telling me what you think! your kudos and comments and bookmarks make me smile!  
> *pterodactyl noises*


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calm weeks are always great.

The next few days were calm. John was nearly always too drunk to start anything with Sam or Dean, and the Novaks were keeping the two of them at their house as much as possible. Sam was still tutoring Gabe after school, so Dean spent nearly every afternoon with Cas. They went out to eat, watched TV at Cas’, and sometimes they would sit with Sam and Gabe while they did math homework. Everything felt right.

That is, everything felt right until Friday afternoon.

Sam didn’t tutor on Fridays, so he and Dean went straight home after school. Something felt off the moment they pulled onto their street. They sat in the car for a moment before exchanging an uneasy glance and getting out of the car. When they got inside, John wasn’t passed out on the couch. 

“I’ll go check his room.” Dean mumbled to Sam. 

“I’ll look around down here.” Sam answered. 

Dean nodded before limping up the stairs. He had abandoned the crutch yesterday in favor of locking up his knee and not bending his ankle to avoid putting weight on his toes. He silently walked down the hall, sparing a quick glance in every room he passed. He finally reached John’s room at the end of the hallway. The door was wide open and the room was empty. Dean swore under his breath before hurrying back to the stairs. He descended as fast as he could manage, hissing when his toes cried out in protest. He had just reached the bottom of the flight when a loud crash came from the kitchen. Dean immediately pulled out his phone. He typed out a quick text to Cas before silently unlocking the door and moving to the kitchen.

“You and your brother, comin’ home late every night, the fuck’ve you two been doin’?” John was saying. 

“I told you, I’ve been tutoring some people and Dean sticks around to take me home.” Sam said calmly.

“You ain’t been comin’ home, boy! Don’ think you can jus’ lie to me and get away with it!”

Something solid hit the wall. Dean walked into the kitchen, trying to keep his head high. John snarled when he noticed him.

“You been lettin’ Sam come home late? Thought I wouldn’t notice?” John growled.

“He told you, he’s been tutoring.” Dean’s voice exuded fake confidence. 

“Who then?”

“His friend, Gabriel.”

“Bull shit. What, you two dating or somethin’? I didn’t raise no faggots in my house.” 

Sam snorted. Dean noticed a faint trickle of blood coming from his nose and an angry red patch of skin on his cheek.

“Hate to break it to you, but you did.” Sam laughed.

“Sam…” Dean warned.

“Yeah, Gabe and I are dating. You are the only straight person in this house. Congrats.” 

John rushed towards Sam, shoving him back against the wall and throwing a punch at his jaw. Dean heard the front door open and moved into the kitchen, grabbing the back of John’s shirt and yanking him off of Sam. Gabe and Cas walked in, quickly taking in the scene. Dean had pinned John against the refrigerator and Sam was leaning heavily on the counter, blood trickling out of his mouth and now pouring out of his nose. Gabe turned towards Dean and John, his eyes lit with anger. He quickly traded places with Dean, pressing John against the fridge in a position that looked none too comfortable. 

“Dean, Cas, get Sam and get out of here.” Gabe growled. Dean and Cas were quick to comply, each grabbing one of Sam’s arms and moving him out of the kitchen. 

They deposited Sam on the couch, Dean telling Cas to go get the first aide kit out of the bathroom cabinet. Dean quickly cleaned Sam up, mopping up the blood from his nose and wiping away the remnants of Sam’s cheek getting caught in between his teeth when he hit the wall the second time. 

Painful sounding noises were coming out of the kitchen. After fifteen minutes, a livid looking Gabriel stalked into the living room. His expression softened when he saw Sam sitting on the couch, holding a bloody tissue to his nose.

“You okay, Sam?” Gabe asked.

“M’fine,” Sam mumbled through the bit of gauze Dean had had him stick in his cheek. 

“Gabe, your knuckles are bleeding.” Dean pointed out.

Gabe looked down at his hand, seemingly noticing the blood for the first time. “Must’ve split ‘em.”

Sam grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him down onto the couch to sit next to him. Sam carefully cleaned the splits in Gabe’s knuckles and bandaged them. Once he was done, Gabe stood up.

“We ought to get out of here. Let’s get some clothes packed for you two.” Gabe pointed at Sam and Dean. “There is no way I’m letting either of you stay here with him.” Gabe explained when they gave him confused looks.

The two of them went up the stairs to their rooms, both emerging with duffle bags filled with their clothes and phone chargers. Sam’s laptop was cradled in his elbow and Dean had stuffed every free space in his school backpack with books.

They loaded into their cars, Dean and Cas in one, Gabe and Sam in the other, and drove off to the Novaks, Dean and Sam never once looking back at the house containing their barely conscious father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaand sorry for the short chapter.
> 
> if y'all havent figured it out yet, i dont like posting short chapters but i dont want to make them so long that everybody thinks theyre too long and ugh whatever.
> 
> i forgot to say in the notes on the last chapter, i'm from Ohio and theres a constant debate about whether Swenson's or Sky Way has a better burger, so i thought it may be funny to write about and i dunno, i enjoyed it XD (btws Swenson's is better, let no one tell you any different)
> 
> anywhoooooo
> 
> i hope you enjoyed, leave me a comment telling me what you think!   
> *pterodactyl noises*


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Sam are moving in with the Novaks, but Ms. Novak has one simple rule.

John Winchester died on his way to the courthouse on Saturday. 

The idiot wasn’t even drunk, but the rain had been coming down in sheets and he couldn’t see the sign that signaled a sharp turn in the road. 

Sam and Dean didn’t bother with a funeral. They weren’t going to waste money on a funeral for their father of all people.

There was really no question of where they were staying. Ms. Novak had been livid when some people from the system showed up at her front door.

“Where exactly were you when these boys were getting beaten half to death by their father, hm? We’ve been giving them shelter when they need it while you people sit on your asses waiting for someone else to tell you what to do. You have the nerve to come to my house and take these two somewhere where they’ll be split up and passed around like a beanbag in a game of hot potato? No, I think the Winchester boys will be staying with me.” Ms. Novak turned to where Dean, Sam, Gabe, and Cas were standing in the hallway. “That is if you’re alright with it.” She nodded towards the Winchesters. 

“Of course we’re alright with it.” Dean said after a moment.

“There you have it,” Ms. Novak turned back to the agents, “They will be staying here. Now, I would greatly appreciate it if you would get the hell off my property.”

They didn’t need to be told twice. The pair of agents rushed to their car and drove away as fast as the speed limit allowed. Ms. Novak turned back to the four boys in the hallway, a satisfied look on her face.

“Who’s up for going out for lunch?” She asked. 

A few excited cheers rose in the hallway before everyone rushed off to put their shoes on. Everyone was in the car in a matter of seconds, mostly since Gabe called shotgun the moment the car was in sight. Sam, Dean, and Cas were shoved together in the back seat, all glaring at Gabriel, who was mockingly stretching out and placing his feet on the dashboard.

“Feet on the floor, Gabriel.” Ms. Novak ordered.

Gabe hastily brought his feet down, ignoring the snickers from the back seat. It took fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant, in which Dean had managed to press his knees against the back of Gabe’s seat in a way that made him as uncomfortable as possible while raising no suspicion from Ms. Novak. Gabe sent Dean a glare that told Dean he would have hell to pay for it, but that would be later. When they pulled into the parking lot of a little Mexican restaurant, Gabe jumped out of the car as fast as humanly possible. 

Ms. Novak herded everyone inside where they were immediately seated. Apparently 11 o’clock was a slow time on Sundays. Service was fast and before they knew it, everyone was eating tacos and burritos and quesadillas. 

“Okay boys, there is something we have to talk about.” Ms. Novak said when she was finished with the first of her three tacos. 

Everyone diverted their attention to her.

“All right. Sam, Dean, I am well aware that you are dating Gabe and Cas.” She started, waiting for everyone’s nods before continuing, “And I completely understand that because of this you are affectionate with each other, but if you are staying with us, there will be no sexual activities in my house.” Dean choked on the bite of quesadilla in his mouth. Ms. Novak continued as if he hadn’t, “Gabriel and Castiel are going to share a room and Dean and Sam will stay in the other. You will be sleeping in your rooms, not each others’. It’s not that I don’t trust you four, but that’s how it’s going to work. Understand?”

She received a chorus of ‘yes’s and an overly exaggerated nod from Dean who was still recovering from inhaling some quesadilla. Ms. Novak smiled, seemingly satisfied. Sam thumped Dean on the back, trying to dislodge the offending piece of tortilla. Once Dean finally coughed up the food, he spoke with a rough voice.

“What exactly is the line between acceptable affection and sexual activities?” He asked, pulling off his glasses to wipe his eyes.

“Kissing is fine, but I draw the line at making out.” Ms. Novak replied.

Dean nodded, returning to his food. 

Lunch was finished without another word about Ms. Novak’s new rules. When they left, Sam quickly called shot gun. There was no argument, considering how uncomfortable Sam had looked in the back on the way to the restaurant with his gangly limbs folded in on each other. They drove home in silence. Dean suddenly realized that he had mentally called the Novaks’ house his home.

He hadn’t smiled so big in a long time.

[]

“GABRIEL JAMES NOVAK!” Ms. Novak screamed. 

Dean and Cas glanced at each other in delight. They glanced out into the hallway to see a flushed Gabe and an embarrassed looking Sam being scolded. It was almost comical, 5’6” Ms. Novak was shouting at 5’8” Gabriel and making 6’4” Sam sheepishly glance away, avoiding her eyes. 

Dean, who was peeking out from around the door jam, was suddenly yanked back into the room by Cas. 

“Listen, Dean. We are not going to be getting in trouble like that. It may seem funny to see my mother striking fear into our brothers, but she is absolutely terrifying when her anger is directed at you. Understand?” Cas mumbled.

“Of course, Cas. I’m not about to get your mom angry. Promise.” Dean replied, pressing a quick kiss to Cas’ lips before returning to the task at hand.

Ms. Novak had sent the four of them upstairs to move things around upstairs. Gabe was moving into Cas’ room and Sam and Dean were being put in Gabe’s room. Sam and Gabe were supposed to be setting Gabe up in Cas’ room while Cas and Dean were blowing up some air mattresses in Gabe’s old room (“It’s completely temporary, we’ll get your actual beds from your house as soon as I get paid so I can rent a U-Haul.” Mrs. Novak had stressed). Apparently, Sam and Gabe had gotten a little bored and started kissing. They obviously let it escalate a bit too far. 

Ms. Novak let out an irritated sigh before peeking her head into what was now Dean and Sam’s room.

“Dinner is ready, are you two done in here?” She said.

“Yeah, we’re all set up.” Dean replied.

Ms. Novak nodded and smiled before going back into the hall and leading Dean and Cas downstairs to the table, where a still red-faced Sam and a sheepish looking Gabriel were already sitting. 

Yeah, Dean and Cas were going to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oml i'm only writing one more chapter after this *sobs uncontrollably* 
> 
> the last chapter should be up later tonight *more crying*
> 
> i hope you enjoyed! leave me a comment telling me what you think! *pterodactyl noises*


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our two favorite couples are on a double date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is the last chapter *dramatic sigh*
> 
> i know i said this would be up later tonight, so don't mind me putting it up at 1:50 pm where i am
> 
> i hope you enjoyed your ride on the AU Express, please stay seated until the ride has come to a complete stop
> 
> i love you guys, i hope you enjoy

“Hey, Samsquatch, you have pasta sauce in your hair.” Gabe pointed out.

Dean, Cas, and Gabe all started laughing while a blushing Sam started wiping at his hair with a napkin. The four of them had gone out together, desperate to escape the watchful eye of Ms. Novak. 

“Shut up and eat, you ass.” Sam grumbled, flicking his fork against Gabe’s cheek and smearing pasta sauce over his face.

The group ate quietly for a moment before Gabe made an excited noise. “Ooo! Sammy, you haven’t told them that thing yet.”

“Oh yeah. I almost forgot.” Sam said, smacking him palm on his forehead.

“Don’t tell me you’re pregnant.” Dean mumbled, earning him an elbow in the side from Cas.

“No, I am not pregnant…” Sam started.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot, Gabe’s the bottom, isn’t he?” Dean said smartly.

Sam kicked him under the table as Cas elbowed him harder in the side.

“Deano, would you shut up for two minutes and listen to what Sammy’s trying to say?” Gabe mumbled through a mouthful of fettuccini alfredo. 

“I… I got accepted into Stanford,” Sam said embarrassedly. 

“You got accepted?” Dean’s voice was a bit louder than was restaurant appropriate. 

“Full ride.” Gabe answered for him with a look of pride.

“Sam, that’s great! That’s really fucking great.” Dean said, a huge smile plastered across his face. 

Dean and Cas had been going to a community college for a year now, Gabriel for two. Sam had applied to a few colleges, but he was sure he wasn’t going to go to Stanford, much less with a full ride

“Are you two going to try to get them to put you in the same room this year?” Gabe asked once everyone had finished congratulating Sam.

“Of course.” Cas said immediately. Last year, he and Dean had sent in roommate request forms, asking to be placed in the same dorm room, but they had been rejected since they were both just freshmen. “We already sent them in, dorm assignments are getting sent out soon.” 

Gabe nodded thoughtfully. They went back to their food, discussing their classes. They stayed at the restaurant for hours after they had finished eating, only leaving when a less than pleased Ms. Novak called Gabriel, demanding they come home. The four of them chipped in on an absurdly large tip in apology for their loitering before walking out.

Sam and Gabe sat in the front seat, arguing over the radio. Dean sighed loudly, laying his forehead on Cas’ shoulder.

“They’re hopeless.” Dean mumbled into Cas’ shirt.

“Hey, we were like that once. Remember?” Cas murmured in Dean’s hair. 

Dean smiled before reaching into the front seat and punching in a station. “Drive.” He grumbled. 

Gabriel huffed before starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot. 

[]

“Dean, there is no way you are bringing that.” Cas groaned when he saw Dean carrying his radio alarm clock to an open box.

“But whyyyyy?” Dean whined.

“You’re going to blast your music and get us a noise complaint! You have your laptop; you can use iHeart Radio.” 

“Fine.”

Dean set the radio back on his nightstand, instead opting for grabbing his piles of books and finding more creative ways to make them fit into his boxes. 

“Dean! Cas! Hurry up, we’re going to be late for registration!” Gabe yelled up the stairs.

Dean sighed before tucking the flaps of the box under each other to hold the contents inside and lifting the box onto his hip. Everything else was already shoved in the back of the Impala and this was his last box. Cas followed his example, grabbing his last box and carrying it to the Impala. They slid the boxes in the small space left on the back seat and slammed the doors, getting into the front seats and following Gabriel as he drove off towards the campus. 

[]

Dean and Cas sat in their dorm room, the lights off, empty and partially empty boxes casting shadows around the room. They were both exhausted from unpacking all afternoon. It was nearly ten and Cas wanted to sleep.

“C’mon Cas-“ Dean yawned, “There’s only two more boxes.” 

Dean walked over to the light switch panel, flipping the switch Cas had just turned off. The room flooded with light. Cas threw himself face-down on the ground, whining something about not wanting to move. Dean grabbed Cas’ hand and started to pull him up. Cas caught on immediately, springing up and tackling Dean. He sat on Dean’s hips, pinning his wrists next to his head.

“Sleep now. Unpack later.” Cas demanded.

“Cas, we’re not going to want to do it later.” Dean groaned, trying to free his wrists. 

Cas smirked before leaning down and catching Dean in a kiss. He pulled away once Dean had stopped squirming.

“Sleep now. Unpack later.” Cas repeated.

Dean sighed, “Fine.” 

Cas smiled and kissed Dean again before letting him up and pulling him towards his bed. It was a bit small for the both of them, but they squeezed on nonetheless, Cas plastered against Dean’s back.

“I’m not a little spoon.” Dean grumbled.

“You’re right. Little spoons don’t talk.” Cas replied sarcastically.

Dean pouted and Cas smirked, pulling him closer to his chest. They fell asleep like that, the lights still on and two more boxes still needing unpacked.

This was going to be a good year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gross sobbing*
> 
> i love all y'all so much
> 
> i hope you enjoyed the ride, please make sure you have all of your feels on your person before exiting. watch your step on the way out, we aren't fully insured.
> 
> keep an eye on my page if you enjoy my writing style, i have a list of AUs on my phone that i would just loooove to try out *wink wink*
> 
> seriously though, this is my first fic and your support has meant a lot to me
> 
> i hope you enjoyed, leave me a comment telling me what you think!
> 
> in the wise words of our lord and saviour Tyler Joseph
> 
> "you all have become so important to us.  
> thank you.
> 
> now go on, git.
> 
> you gon make me cry now."
> 
> *pterodactyl noises*


End file.
